MELBOURNE, Australia – No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska applied her clinical game against the Puerto Rican Monica Puig, overpowering her 6-4, 6-0 in the third round of the Australian Open.

Even though this was the first time she’s ever played against Puig, Radwanska knew to be wary of unseeded younger players, especially since they’ve already caused quite a few big upsets during the fortnight.

“As we see now the ranking, it sometimes didn’t really show the game, what the player actually showing,” Radwanska told the press before the match. “You play against the player, not the ranking.

“As we see, those players are beating top players here.”

Both Radwanska and Puig came through some tough second-round matches: Radwanska passed the test of a resurgent Eugenie Bouchard, and Puig fought for over two and a half hours against Kristyna Pliskova, who fired a record-breaking 31 aces.

When they took to the court under the roof at Margaret Court Arena, the two seemed evenly matched. Puig came out of the gates playing aggressively, keeping pace with Radwanska during a close first set until the Puerto Rican got the first break of the match at 3-4. But in the very next game when she had the chance to add to her lead, Puig flubbed an overhead into open court and handed the break right back to Radwanska.

After that, the World No.4 took control of the match and never let go, rattling off nine consecutive games in her trademark decisive fashion. Puig’s errors were her undoing – her flat groundstrokes misfired and coughed up 29 unforced errors compared to Radwanska’s 17.

“She started really well,” Radwanska said after the win. “Everything was just coming so fast and she was playing with an amazing intensity. I was really in big trouble that first set.

“In that second set I think I just find my rhythm, and I was serving much better as well.”

Radwanska is set to play Anna-Lena Friedsam, who overcame a 0-6 deficit to defeat No.13 seed Roberta Vinci 0-6, 6-4, 6-4. Radwanska leads Friedsam 1-0 in their head to head – the Polish player beat her in straight sets on her way to the title in Shenzhen.